You must speak to be heard
by Calandraa
Summary: Egon has never been a man to show much emotion but lately he seems even more distant. Was it the involuntary trip to oblivion? Or is it something else? Based on the IDW-Comics "Ghostbusters". Minor Spoilers for "Ghostbusters International". Takes place after "Ghostbusters International" but before "Ghostbusters 101". T for language
1. Chapter 1

Janine tried hard to concentrate on the case file in front of her. For the fifth time now she re-read the first paragraph. But once more the words slipped right through her mind and did not intend to linger there. She was unable to focus on her work because her thoughts would wander again and again to the conversation she had had with Roger the night before. He had called her late, nearly midnight. His ever so friendly and calm voice sounded annoyed and demanding.

" _Janine, we can't go on like that forever!"_

" _Like what?"_

" _A long distance relationship is only a temporary solution and you know it."_

" _But right now, it's the only solution"_

" _No, it is not – just come here and live with me."_

" _Roger, I…I have a job here."_

" _I get paid well enough for both of us!"_

" _Don't get macho, Roger, I like to work."_

" _No offense, Janine, but you can work as a secretary anywhere. Here at the university for example…"_

" _Well, I don't wanna work anywhere, I wanna work at the Ghostbusters Headquarters!"_

 _Even though she did not intend to, she snapped at him, causing a moment of silence at the other end of the line, finally been broken by a cold voice: "It is Dr. Spengler, right?"_

" _Yeah, Roger, it's Egon! And Peter and Ray and Winston and Kylie. There my friends, my family. Not to speak of the fact that my family-family lives here, too!"_

" _Janine, if all that can't be outweighed by me and our relationship…"_

" _Then what?"_

" _Then I do not believe, it makes much sense to cling to each other."_

 _She was shocked. Not by his words, but by her own reaction. She was not sad, not even angry._

" _Yeah, guess that's true…" she heard herself say. Then the line went dead._

Sighing Janine put the case file away.

"Time to look for some work that requires less concentration!" She mumbled to herself.

She decided to take care of the files that already had been reviewed the day before and put them into the filing cabinet.

 _Try hard, Melnitz, and you might be able to remember the alphabet!_ She mocked herself and started working on her new task.

Since it had been a very busy month it took her a while to sort everything but after about twenty minutes she had put the last file away. Determined to give the reviews a second try she went back to her desk when she heard the familiar sound of Ecto 1. Kylie obviously had heard it, too, because soon her footsteps were heard on the stairs.

The boys returned and they did not look too happy. Peter, Ray and Winston – for a blind man to see – were frustrated. Egon on the other hand did not show any sign of emotion. He was fiddling with his PKE-Meter.

 _Sure, Dr. Spengler!_ Janine thought angrily. _Keep staring at that stupid thing! Else you might have to look at a human face or – God forbid – even talk to your friends!_

It was kind of funny. Roger basically broke up with her last night and she could not care less, while Egon made her mad by just standing there. But Janine was convinced that she had the right to be angry. Everybody had given up on ever learning what had made Egon distance himself so much from the others but they also had expected him to go back to normal after everything that had happened. Their abduction by the collectors, his time in oblivion, the events surrounding Loftur Thorsteinsen, by God, they literally had gone through hell for him! But the excited audience got nothing more than the well-known Mr.-Spock-performance from Dr. Spengler.

* * *

Peter got off the car. He was frustrated, disappointed and angry. As expected the ghost at this florist's was the same damn thing they had encountered in several flower shops during the week. But this time he did not only fool them, no it also confused them. Before today it seemed to be a simple Class Five. An icky blob of ectoplasm just like that accursed Sedgewick Bastard in Egon's Observation Tank, just a different color. While Egon's little experiment "partner" looked like some slimy booger, that new thing's color reminded Peter of something you would find in a toilet. But after what that ghost did today he really wished it would go back to just looking icky. Because all of a sudden that thing started to smell like something you would find in a toilet, too. The new odor was so disgusting that it had paralyzed the surprised ghostbusters. Within this time the blob had slimed almost every single flower in the shop, the plants had absorbed the slime and started to smell just like the blob. Peter still felt sick and fought the urge to throwup. Of course the blob had escaped leaving the ghostbusters behind with a veeeeery pissed shopkeeper.

Meanwhile Egon approached Janine's desk and asked her without taking his eyes from the PKE-Meter: "Did you get the books I need from the library?"

"Yes, of course, Dr. Spengler!" Janine said in a voice that was the most disturbing amalgam of sweetness and sarcasm that Peter had ever heard.

Even Egon did not miss it. With curious eyes he looked at her fake smile while raising an eyebrow. After Janine and Egon had stared at each other a few seconds, that seemed like eternity to all the witnesses around, Egon cleared his throat.

"Well, where are they?" He asked and looked around.

"In your laboratory, Dr. Spengler." She paused before adding: "As you requested!"

"Ah, right, I said that. But since everybody is here right now you could get them down here and…"

"Oooooor…", she said. "I get myself a coffee and you get these precious books yourself!"

The men and Kylie watched as Janine went up the stairs. For a while everybody remained silent but finally Peter clapped his hands and started to give orders.

"Okay, Ray, you and the kid, search these books and look for anything that might help us. Winston, please find out why Ecto makes weird noises whenever I take a left turn. And Egon…" He paused. "Whatever there is wrong with you and Janine – fix it! She is supposed to be at MY throat not at yours. I'm getting jealous here."

Egon raised an eyebrow at Peter: "I do not think that I am the reason for her behavior. She is quite emotional due to the recent… events. You're the psychologist, Peter."

"Well, I don't see her ripping anybody else's head off!" Peter stated. "So her general emotional state probably is NOT the reason."

"But…" Egon tried to argue further but Peter cut him off.

"Fix. This. Now." The psychologist insisted, pointed upstairs and Egon sighed in defeat.

He took the old stairs not nearly as fast as his now healed leg would have allowed him. He was in no hurry to talk to Janine. Peter probably was right. The secretary was not just emotional or exhausted because of their latest experiences. It was something about him that made her angry or upset but how could he "fix it" as Peter demanded if he did not even know what exactly was broken?

When Egon entered the kitchen Janine was sitting at the table. In front of her lay what normally probably was the complete content of her purse. He stepped closer but she was so engaged in whatever she did there that she did not pay attention to him.

"Stupid tissues!" She cursed – barely audible but he could hear her.

Therefor he grabbed a pack of tissues from his overall's Pocket and handed them to her. Obviously unaware to his presence until now she swung around startled. Even though she was not crying, Egon thought he saw tears in her eyes.

"Thank you!" She said quietly, took the tissues and turned away again.

While Janine was pretending to have gotten something in her eye Egon skimmed through the items on the table. Mascara, a little mirror, lipstick… suddenly his eyes locked on a small metal object he recognized immediately.

"You still have that?" He took the tiny ghostzapper in his hand and looked at Janine, surprised.

The secretary looked up and managed to smile, obviously remembering the day she got the tiny weapon.

About five years ago, Egon had started to worry, Janine might get attacked while being alone at the firehouse. And since he could never come up with any good ideas for birthday presents anyway he had decided to build that little device. It was pretty easy to activate without the risk to go off unintentionally. A paranormal creature would be stunned for a few seconds up to a minute – depending on the power of the entity - giving the user (hopefully enough) time to escape. It had been an interesting gift table that year: a book, a scarf, a vase with flowers, candy - and a miniature nuclear weapon. But even though his present had been the most unusual, Egon was the one who had gotten a kiss.

"Why wouldn't I?" Janine asked – her expression much softer than a moment ago.

"Pardon me?" Egon was confused.

"You seemed surprised that I still have the ghostzapper." She explained and then repeated: "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I gave this to you during a time you were more or less helpless when the others and I were out on a job. Now you do have access to much more powerful weapons."

"I do not think a proton pack would fit in my purse, Egon!" She stated dryly.

"But didn't Mr. Alexander build a similar device for you? Even more powerful?"

"Egon, I never needed this one, nor the one Ron made for me. But I am keeping yours because it was a birthday present. You gave it to me to keep me save."

"Yes, out of practical reasons, so it seems rather irrational to choose it over the one Mr. Alex…"

He stopped talking when he noticed her smile fading.

"Not every decision is driven by rationality!" she stated coolly. "At least this is true for most people."

After a moment of silence she smiled again, but this time it was a sad smile. She got up and turned to leave. Without looking at him she said in a bitter voice: "Maybe I am keeping it as a souvenir… You know as a reminder of the good old times when you cared…"

Now Egon was fast. Within the fracture of a second he stood next to Janine and grabbed her arm, keeping her from leaving. Apparently she had not seen that coming because she gasped in shock. When he saw her flinch he realized that his grip was much tighter than he wanted it to be and he loosened it a little.

"Cared?" He asked.

"Yes!" She nodded and added coldly: "You know, 'to care' as in 'to have an interest in someone's well-being'."

"I am familiar with the semantics of 'to care', Janine." Despite his best efforts Egon heard annoyance echoing in his voice. He could not help himself and added: "Even though I am no English professor!"

"Oh really, Egon?" She challenged him. "Ya wanna go down that road?"

"No, I…I apologize. But why do you use 'to care' in the past tense?"

"Do I really have to answer such an unnecessary question?"

Egon tried to stay calm but he felt the anger rising. And he was well aware that Janine knew too much about him as not to notice. She was doing that on purpose.

"Alright!" Egon gathered his patience. "Why do you think I do not care about you?"

"Hmm, lemme think…" Sarcasm dropped from her words when she looked to the ceiling pretending to think hard about his question. Finally she returned to look at him and said very slowly: "Maybe because you show no goddamn sign of it?"

"Janine, you could have talked to me almost the whole time. If you wanted to speak with me…"

"Yes, because the last dialog we had was so joyful!"

"What do you mean?"

"The last time we talked for more than a few seconds, you acted like… an avatar of vanity, stupidity, and… and asshollery!"

"'Asshollery' is not a word, Janine!"

"Oh, but I think the 'semantics' are clear." She paused. "Even though you're no English professor!"

"Now you are heading for that road!" He stated.

"No, I am heading home!" She said and tried to free herself from his grip.

Although unwilling to hurt her he held on to her arm tighter again.

"Tell me, Janine", he demanded. "What did I do that was so vain, stupid and…well, you know…"

"Asshollerish?"

"Yes!"

"Egon, you asked me, whether I was with Roger only to make you jealous!"

"I had my reasons to consider this a possibility." He shrugged. "You were the one becoming aggressive."

"Of course this made me aggressive!" Her voice became louder but suddenly she fell silent. She took a deep breath and started talking again, now calmer while looking directly at him, her emerald eyes never leaving his: "Egon, Roger wasn't a flirt at the bar. He was my boyfriend. Hell, I slept with this guy."

Egon flinched. Of course it was obvious that Janine and Professor Baugh had shared a physical relationship, but he did not want to hear about that.

Janine continued: "Not only did your question imply that my whole world revolves around you and whatever I do I do to get your attention. No, you also seem to think that I would be cruel enough to use a very nice men AND would be willing to whore myself out to accomplish that!"

Suddenly he understood how much his question had hurt her and he did not have an answer for her when she asked him with a sad and slightly shaking voice: "How could you think so poorly of me?"

He wanted to say something but struck by the realization and the feeling of shame and guilt he was at loss of words. After a while he blurted out: "You are neither cruel nor a whore!"

Janine stared at him in disbelief.

"I am so glad, we established that!" She stated sarcastically. Finally she sighed, shook her head and asked in a neutral voice: "Would you mind letting go of my arm now, Egon? I really want to call it a day and get home. "

Not knowing anything he could say or do he let her go. He watched in silence when she gathered her belongings from the table and left the kitchen.

* * *

Peter's curiosity won the inner battle against his ethics (again) and he decided to get a little closer to the kitchen. Only a few steps to make sure Egon would not make things worse. The guy just had a talent for this.

Carefully Peter took the first steps just to be almost knocked down the stairs by Janine. The redhead bumped into him and he barely managed to balance himself out and to grab her so that she would not fall either.

She looked at him with shocked and watery green eyes.

"S…sorry, Peter!" She stuttered. "I wasn't paying attention!"

"Yeah!" He grinned. "I noticed that…"

She opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it again. After a moment of awkward silence, staring at each other, his arm still around her waist, he asked: "Are you alright?"

She got back on her own feet and freed herself from his arm. Without looking at him she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little headache. So, if there is no paranormal emergency I would like to go home!"

"Of course. Have a nice evening!"

"Thanks!" She said, still not looking at him, and hurried to the exit.

Peter watched her leave and sighed. Egon HAD made things worse. After thinking about it for a second Peter jumped down the stair and followed Janine.

* * *

Author's note

I hope you like the first chapter. As always: Let me know if I mispelled something or messed up commas (I swear, I'll never learn how you English speaking people decide when and where to put a comma ;) )


	2. Chapter 2

It was past midnight. Egon was working at the firehouse's laboratory. Or to be precise: He was trying to work. His conversation with Janine had left him ashamed. He had always known that his skills in handling social situations were underdeveloped at best. But how could he have missed that his words could so easily be understood as an insult? Now that she had told him it was plain as day but that day on the roof? On that day it hadn't occurred to him that it might be hurtful. He had been so eager to ask whether she tried to make him jealous. Because he had been so eager to hear her say "Yes". Because he had been so eager to make sure that she still belonged to him not to Professor Baugh. He had been so eager to satisfy his ego that he had hurt her – once again. Shameful he had to admit that when Ms. Griffin had told him about Janine and Baugh breaking up he felt relieved, even pleased. Which was a horrible thing to think because the end of the relationship probably made Janine very sad or at least stressed her out. Egon did not even know if she ended it, or if Baugh left her, or if it was mutual. Maybe Egon should have asked her, offering comfort, or at least try to distract her with smalltalk.

He really did not have the time for gloomy thoughts about missed opportunities and lost love. There was a very disgusting Class V roaming through the city spreading disgusting odor via plants he slimed. Sooner or later this might endanger people's health – he could not know whether the slime was toxic or not because the plants immediately absorbed the slime on contact so he could not get a sample. He had taken a few of plants in question with him. The bad thing was that aside from the horrible smell they did not differ from their unslimed siblings. The good thing was that they stopped smelling after about four hours. The latter meant that if they were ever able to catch the ghost it would not leave any remembrance-redolence. Maybe if they pegged their noses, lured it to a certain location prepared with traps they could...

 _Really, Dr. Spengler? That's your idea? A nose clip? How scientific!_

Sighing he leaned on his elbows on the laboratory table and rested his head on his hands until distant laughter from the streets interrupted his thoughts.

* * *

The door to the firehouse went open and two figures stumbled in: A pretty redheaded woman in a black dress and a handsome man with short brown hair wearing a jeans and a white shirt. They both were giggling like teenagers, moved a little clumsy and obviously had had a few drinks to many.

The woman placed herself on the desk after she – more or less gracefully – had made her way across the main hall. She kicked of her shoes and continued laughing.

"That, Dr. Venkman", she said. "Was the most stupid movie I have ever seen!"

"Told you!" The man couldn't stop grinning. "I said I had my reasons to smuggle in that bottle of whisky!"

"No kidding!"

"I have more whisky upstairs!" he offered. "In case you want to forget what you witnessed on screen!"

"Nah! I had more than enough!"

"It's your nightmares!"

She giggled again, then went silent for a moment and looked to the floor.

"Peter?" Finally she lifted her beautiful green eyes and to meet his.

"Hm?"

"Thank you!"

"Anytime, Janine!" He placed himself next to her. "Feeling better?"

"Yes, I had a lot of fun! Life goes on, I guess!"

"It always does – for better or worse!" Peter said.

"In this case, I think it's 'for better'" Janine answered. "Roger was right: Long distance relationships only work for so long. And I don't want to leave New York, not today and not tomorrow!"

"I always thought of long distance relationships as very relaxing." Peter admitted. "The risk to annoy each other decreases if you don't meet too often."

Janine laughed. "How many poor women believe that they are in long distance relationship with you?"

"I lost count!" he joked. "But seriously: You okay?"

"I'm okay!" she stated firmly. "If Roger was the right man for me, I would have followed him to San Francisco, right?"

"Right!" He nodded. "But that's not the only thing I meant. Egon…"

"…is Egon!" She interrupted him. "I shouldn't have made such a fuss about it. You can't teach an old dog new tricks and this old dog solves problems and deals with traumas by burying them deep inside his subconsciousness never to be seen, heard of or talked about again!"

"How he deals with things that happen to us is one thing. How he treats you is another…"

"No", she answered shaking her head. "It's the same thing. He treats people like this. I wanted to believe that I have a special place in his life which would grant me better treatment. But I'm just 'people' to him, too. So he treats me like he treats people."

"You are not 'just people' to him and you know that."

"Whatever! I am sure it's true that he never meant to insult or hurt me. I will just have to move on…"

The last sentence she spoke came out very faint and somehow hesitantly. Peter knew exactly that Janine was not only talking about the situation on the roof or Egon's behavior after his trip to Oblivion. Even though he was sure that this would not be the last he saw of this story, he decided it would be better to put it aside for now.

Peter got up, turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Make yourself at home at our couch, will you?" He said. "I had way too much whisky to drive you home and I don't want you to be alone out there in the dark!"

"Aww, aren't you sweet?" While saying this, she pinched his cheek jokingly.

Finally she let go of his face to get up, when she noticed, that his hands were still placed on her shoulders.

Green eyes met brown eyes and locked for a brief moment. Before one of them knew, their lips crashed onto each other. Without thinking he pulled her closer and held her body close to his. The kiss was intense but short. After a few seconds they both pulled away.

"Bad idea!" They stated simultaneously.

For a moment they stared at each other, eyes widened in shock. Suddenly they both burst out into laughter.

"Oh my god!" Janine said with a mixture of shame and amusement. "I am so sorry!"

"No need to apologize!" He scratched his head, embarrassed as well. "None of us, no, both of us initiated this – it just happened!"

"Oh good, we're blaming it on a glitch in the matrix and go on our merry way!" Janine suggested before she carefully made her way up the stairs.

"Great plan!" he called after her. For a moment he paused, but then he stopped her one more time: "Janine?"

"Yes?"

"Are you still my 'plus one' for the mayor's banquet?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" She rolled her eyes before she continued her way to the upper floor.

He grinned. He knew that the sarcastic remark wasn't directed at him but at the immense amount of boredom that was to be expected from the so called 'party' the mayor was having. He did this several times a year to impress rich and influential people. The ghostbusters' popularity was on a permanent rollercoaster ride. Right now people were pretty fond of them – which came with a lot of benefits. The downside was that the mayor loved to boast about himself being sooooo close to the beloved heroes of the city. So Peter and his three best friends had to show up there. He had asked Janine, Ray had persuaded Kylie to be his "plus one" and Winston was going with Tiyah.

Peter grinned at the thought. Tiamat had been stupid. Killing Tiyah would have taken away any chance for Winston to get her back, not to speak of the guilt he would have felt for the rest of his life. Erasing her memories was a low blow, yes. But it left the chance to make new memories. Winston was still the same person as before and so was Tiyah, why shouldn't they fall in love again?

And Egon? As far as Peter knew the scientist had no date for the banquet. Peter had thought of setting Egon up to ask Janine. But right now he was pretty angry at Egon and felt like his best friend didn't deserve her. Janine had told him how Egon had accused her of only dating Roger to make Egon jealous. This had hurt her more than it had made her angry and despite the bickering and even serious arguments, Peter and Janine were close and he really didn't like people who hurt her. Egon was his best friend so he wouldn't punch him in the face, but he wouldn't help him to get the girl. Well, he would, eventually – but not this week!

* * *

Egon heard the door opening and slamming shut. At first he tried to ignore it because he thought it was Ray or Peter or both of them. Not in the mood to talk to any of his colleagues he decided it would be best to stay where he was. But after a while he heard a female voice laughing and talking.

Janine? What was she doing here in the middle of the night? He went to the old sleeping quarters hoping he could have a look without being seen. As close as possible he stepped to the fire pole.

Down in the main hall he saw Janine and Peter. She sat on her desk, Peter's hands on her shoulders, and was just pinching her bosses cheek and giggled: "Awww, aren't you sweet!"

After that she tried to get up but Peter's hands held her down. Egon was beginning to wonder why because Peter did not try to continue the conversation. His eyes widened in shock as Peter leaned down and planted his lips on Janine's.

Soon they broke the kiss, dismissed it laughing and said their good nights. Egon stared down the fire pole into the main hall. He stood in complete darkness so he hadn't been seen through the opening in the ceiling by Janine or Peter, who just made his way up the stairs. Egon hurried to his lab and thanks to Peter's lack of sobriety he made it there without running into the psychologist. After a while he heard Peter's yawn and a sound probably from clothes being kicked carelessly into a corner of the room. Obviously Dr. Venkman had decided to use the old quarters for his beauty sleep. Egon was not sure when last someone had changed the bedlinen but then again Peter had not cared for that very much even when they actually had lived here.

Soon there was silence. Peter obviously fell asleep fast which was hardly surprising since he – from what Egon understood – drank at least half a bottle of whisky.

Egon didn't know what to think of what he had witnessed a few minutes ago. But he knew exactly what he felt: It was the urge to violently remove the excrements from Peter's body. Peter had told Janine that none of them had initiated the kiss. But Egon's perspective on the scenery had told him otherwise: Peter had not loosened his grip on her shoulders, it had been him to lower his head before she lifted hers and he had pulled her closer. Sure, he had broken the kiss at the same moment she had, but still.

Clenching his fist Egon tried to get the images out of his mind. Peter always talked about Janine as platonic friend.

 _"_ _The sister I never had!" Peters laughing voice echoed in his memories._

 _"_ _Aw, you too are like a brother to me!" Egon remembered Janine answering. "An extremely annoying brother!"_

The voice of reason told Egon that he had no right to be angry or jealous. He was well aware of the fact that he had sent mixed signals towards Janine from the beginning. Lately he had kept his distance because there had been so much to do and to take care of, such much danger he would put a potential lover in and so many ways to be a horrible man for her.

So yes, Egon had distanced himself from Janine without ever talking to her about it. Peter since then scolded him on a regular basis for that as a "daily reminder". Egon couldn't but agree that Janine was hardly to blame for the development.

But Peter was the one who always claimed to know better how people felt than they knew themselves. Egon was no exception – the psychologist permanently urged him to "make a move already" because he was convinced that – no matter what Egon said – the scientist wanted Janine. And now the same Peter Venkman kissed the woman of whom he thought Egon was in love with?

 _It was late, they were tired, they were drunk and the events of the past months have left them both vulnerable!_ His head reasoned with his heart. _It was a special kind of… accident!_

 _Ha! Peter? Vulnerable? Please!_ The heart fought back. _He took advantage of her!_

 _No, he didn't! It was a kiss that lasted only for a few seconds! He didn't have any sexual intercourse with her!_

 _Oh, that knight in shiny armor!_ Was the heart's sarcastic reply. _He only remembered that screwing with her might cost him the only secretary in the world that can read his messy handwriting._

 _But…_

 _Stop defending him! We both know it was a douche-move!_

Not used to such impervious resistance from the heart the head had to admit defeat and agree to be angry with Peter Venkman _._


	3. Chapter 3

"Thanks for taking me with you Egon!" The tall black-haired woman smiled brightly at him.  
"Hm?" Egon – deep in thought – looked at her, slightly confused.

A lot of things were running through his minds. On the one hand he was pretty satisfied: The nose clip plan, though not very scientific, had worked. They had been able to predict the ghost's next target and trap the place. When the thing had tried to escape it flew exactly in the expected direction where Ms. Griffin had activated the hidden traps. Plus, the ghost had fallen for the huge plastic plant and had slimed it so Egon now owned a sample of the slime which he kept locked tight in his laboratory. They also had managed to get rid of the smell in time. So everything was fine.

(Except for Ms. Griffin's remark towards him after the bust: "Not bad for an old priest!" But it was hard to stay mad at her when she was so amused by her own jokes.)

On the other hand he still had to sort things out with Janine and he did not look forward to this. The banquet was neither the right place nor the right time. But standing next to her with that displeasing, unspoken issues would not be comfortable.

"I just said it was nice of you to bring me as your 'plus one'." The woman next to him repeated.

"Of course, Doris." He shrugged it off. "I owe you a favor for your help. Winston seems to have a talent for the juridical matters, but right now we are still in need for an approved lawyer's advice now and then. And I do not have to tell you about the expenses that come with consulting those colleagues of yours who do not work in exchange for favors. I hope you will find promising new clients here."

Doris stepped a little closer and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So, you're only here with me because you owe me a favor?" she asked with a seducing smile.

"Of course!" Egon stated, a serious expression on his face. "I keep my promises!"

"Of course!" Sighing Doris took the arm he offered and together they entered the banqueting hall.

It was a large room with long tables along the western wall where some guests already had been seated. On the other side a band played some evergreens next to the dance floor that by now was used by only a few people. Opposite to the entrance the hosts had placed the buffet were the larger part of the invited guests gathered. This was wise because despite their wealth a lot of the mayor's "close friends" seemingly were afraid of starving so that running out of food during events like that was not new to the mayor.

Due to some minor mistakes he made with the slime samples in the lab Egon (his lack of concentration really was a problem these days) had lost the track of time and of course traffic had done its part too. So Doris and himself were a little late. His fellow ghostbusters and their dates were already in the hall and to no surprise they stood at the bar which was right next to the buffet. Everybody was dressed up, laughing and talking, but Egon had no eye or ear for anyone but Janine. She wore an emerald dress that matched her eyes and perfectly featured her slim but womanly body. Other than most female guests she did not wear an elaborate hairstyle, but Egon did not like those anyway. The simple yet elegant way her red hair fell around her porcelain tainted face outshined every hairstyle he had ever seen.

Janine was the first to notice him and was about to wave. But when she saw Doris her pretty smile faded and her hand sunk. Obviously her reaction had called Peter's attention and as soon as he saw Egon and his company, he wrapped a protective arm around Janine.

* * *

Janine felt Peter's comforting touch. It hit her hard to see Egon with a date - especially since it was a very attractive date. But it hit her even harder that it hit her at all.

 _Stupid girl! You should be over him by now! It's been years! You are pathetic! Grow the f… up! He doesn't want you! He never did! And now you see why: He likes tall dark haired women, not tiny redheads._

She panicked. What if she started to shake or even cry? The unknown woman seemed to already have met Winston, Peter and Ray. But she introduced herself to Kylie and Tiyah as Doris Fiddler and shook hands with them. When she turned to Janine the secretary took her hand and answered mechanically: "I am Janine. Janine Melnitz!"

"Janine Melnitz?" The woman seemed delighted. "You are the woman who formed a new team when the Ghostbusters were abducted, right?"

"Yeah, that was me!" Janine nodded without emotion.

"You were very brave… and successful! I was, no, I **am** impressed."

Janine smiled weakly.

 _She is nice. That's good, right? I mean, I deeply care for Egon! I want him to be happy. And a nice woman is more likely to make him happy than some stupid bitch! Well, duh!_

"Oh yes!" Peter obviously had noticed Janine's emotional condition and helped her to get away from the painful situation. "Our Janine is a ruby on a mountain of rocks! This is why I won't wait one more second to dance with her!"

He ushered her to the dance floor leaving the rest of the group behind.

* * *

Egon was taken aback by Janine's behavior. Her beautiful emerald eyes seemed clouded, she shook the hand Doris offered weakly, answered her questions half-hearted and Egon was under the impression that her lips were shaking. Only he and Peter seemed to notice, though. The others started to converse when Peter dragged Janine to the dance floor. Already on his way the psychologist turned his face to Egon and shot him a look that left the scientist glad that Peter had NOT learned how to kill people with his mind. In addition Peter seemed to form a word with his mouth, but Egon did not recognize it.

What did he do wrong now? She had wanted to wave but then she didn't. Could she have forgotten that she was mad at him for a moment? That was hardly probable. Maybe it did not have anything to do with him. She most likely still suffered from the break-up with Professor Baugh. Yes, that must be it. It also explained her fast changing mood. He knew that in emotional stress a person could be fine because distracted for the moment, while gloomy the next second when the unpleasant thoughts sneaked back into their minds. He knew that all to well…

* * *

Usually Janine was a passionate dancer. But tonight she did the steps she had learned in her dancing classes automatically.

"Hey!" Peter tried to catch her attention. "Are you alright?"

"What?" Ripped out of her gloomy thoughts she gave him a puzzled look. "Oh, you mean… yes, yes, I am okay. Egon and I – it wasn't meant to be. He didn't feel like I feel… I mean, like I felt."

She looked at her feet and went silent for a moment.

"I just was not prepared, you know?" She said finally, still looking down. "And that was stupid. He is a smart and handsome man. I should have known that he would find a gorgeous woman one day. One that is pretty and charming and educated and, ya know, not only a secretary from Brooklyn like me…"

Peter stopped dancing immediately. He put the fingers of his right hand under her chin and forced her to look up to him with gentle pressure.

"Janine!" He said sternly. "Don't you ever use the word 'only' in combination with anything that has to do with you again!"

"I just…"

"Never. Again." He insisted. "Are we clear?"

"We are clear, boss!" She smiled but her eyes were still sad.

* * *

A cold and grey Monday followed an eventless Sunday. To Egon Mondays had always been like all the other days of the week, but he had to admit that the unkind temperature and the dark clouds hanging in the sky combined with his mood and the tension in the firehouse made this specific Monday a prime example of the depressing and doomful stereotype. He had spent the night in the library working on his latest project. The sun was still rising and therefor the physicist was surprised to hear footsteps.

The door opened and Peter entered the room. Upon spotting him he pointed his finger at Egon.

"You, Sir", he said. "Are an asshole!"

"Good morning to you, too, Dr. Venkman!" Egon said. "To what do I owe this exclusive title?"

"Oh really? You think this funny? Yeah, I am sure she laughed her ass off!"

"I assume we are talking about Janine?"

"Wow! Guess that's why they call you the 'brains' of our team!"

"Peter!" Egon tried to calm his friend down by talking slowly and quietly. "Being hostile is not helpful. I admit that I was not Master of the situation. I was caught by surprise. I was not aware that my words had been so harmful. She was gone to fast and at the banquet there was no time, but I will apologize to her as soon…"

"What are you talking about?" Obviously calming down Peter had failed. He was even louder now.

"About the situation on Friday afternoon. Janine opened my eyes about how insulting my question about her and Professor Baugh was. I was overchallenged at this moment and she left before I could apologize, but I…"

"You really think this is still about that?" Peter stared at him in disbelief.

"Is it not?"

"No, it's about what you did at the banquet!"

"What did I do?"

For a brief moment Peter continued staring at Egon. Then he shook his head.

"I stand corrected!" He said sarcastically. "You're not just an asshole – you're an asshole beyond help!"

Anger rose in Egon. He knew that being around him could be challenging. He knew that his lack of empathy did not make it easy to be his friend. But still he felt that he did not deserve the treatment Peter was giving him right now. Being yelled at, being affronted, being scolded without even given the chance to understand where he had failed. Knowing himself Egon headed for the door. He was a man of reason, seldom in danger of losing control, but IF he lost control, it was very hard for him to gain it again. So it was best to remove himself from the situation.

But Peter stood in his way.

"Running away from uncomfortable situations again?" Peter asked sarcasticly.

When Egon ignored him and tried to get past him, Peter grabbed his coat and began: "You can't just…"

But he stopped midsentence. Within the fracture of a second Egon had violently pushed his friend's hand away, planted himself in front of Peter and taken a hold of his collar with his right hand.

"I do not think", he said, cold, calm and threatening. "That you have any moral high ground to stand on."

Peter tried to say something, but Egon did not give him a chance and continued: "Going out with an employee who is currently vulnerable because of the recent end of a relationship, getting her drunk, and kissing her is both unprofessional and irresponsible. So don't you dare lecturing me about harmful behavior!"

Swallowing hard Peter took a few steps back to get away from Egon. Only reluctantly the physicist let go of his collar and continued to stare at his friend in an uncanny manner.

"You saw us." Peter stated unnecessarily.

"Who is the 'brains' now?" was the sarcastic answer.

"I did not plan that, Egon!" Peter said. "It just happened…"

"Maybe but still you did it. And with regard to your judgement on MY actions this is what counts." Egon analyzed. "I did not plan on hurting her. Damn, I do not even know what I did wrong this time. But obviously I did something wrong. And here you are: Yelling at me, accusing me of being an A…, a bad person, no matter if I did what I did on purpose or not."

"Okay, but..."

"No, 'but', Peter. We both acted wrong. You just got lucky and your actions did not result in hurting someone you love. But you know as well as I do, that they had the potential to do so."

Peter went silent. Knowing his friend well enough Egon could tell that Peter considered his words. The physicist took the chance the quiet moment held to calm himself down. His body relaxed and his eyes – though still fixed on Peter – were much less hostile.

"Alright", Peter said after a while. "I agree that I should not have kissed her. For her sake…"

He hesitated for a second before going on: "And for your's. But no, my actions did NOT have the same potential of hurting her as yours."

"How so?" Egon crossed his arms, trying to stay calm.

"How? Egon! You know what you mean to her, don't you? Yes, I am her friend, but when it comes to romantic feelings, I am not in the position to seriously hurt her! You are!"

"Maybe I was! But I lost her. Ahem… lost her affection." Shaking his head Egon turned away from Peter and headed for the door again. Before he left, he addressed his friend once more but without looking at him: "Listen, Peter, I was mad at you when I saw you kiss her. But I am aware that you were drunk, that you are attached to her, and that she is very attractive. Even though I never experienced this myself, I know things like that happen between friends. I am also aware that I have no right to be angry. And I am no longer. But I ask you to keep in mind that just like you have your weaknesses I have mine. Please think of this before attacking me next time."

And then he left. He went home hoping within his own four walls he would be able to focus better on his work.


	4. Chapter 4

When Janine arrived at the firehouse on Monday morning, it was awfully quiet. Nobody was around but Peter. He greeted her with a smile, but after that he sat at his desk in silence and seemed to be deep in thought. The phone stayed quiet, too, until Ray called from the bookstore asking Janine to come over because he needed help with something. Peter had no urgent work for her and Egon was nowhere to be seen, so she went to help out Ray. Half way to the shop it started to rain a little bit, but she didn't want to go back and get her umbrella so she just held her scarf over her head.

The friendly ring of the little bell sounded in her ear when she stepped into the small store that greeted her with its very own charm. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she let them skim over the books on the big table in the center of the salesroom. Every time she visited dozens of books were scattered around, but nonetheless the shelves were full.

"Janine, great! Thanks for coming!" Ray came from the backroom. "I wouldn't have bothered you, but Kylie is sick."

"What is wrong with her?" Janine was worried.

"Nothing too serious!" Rays assuring voice calmed her down immediately. "Just a little cold. She will be fine. I just want her to get better before I'll allow her to work again. But these books are very important."

He handed her two heavy tomes.

"Take your car. I'm good for the fuel!" He grinned.

"Yeah, thanks", she said sarcastically. "But where do I take them?"

"Oh, right!" Ray chuckled at himself. "Egon's apartment."

"Egon?" Janine's eyes widened with the sound of his name.

"Yes!" Ray became excited. "He is working on a new subclass system for Class Five entities. That will make it much easier to fight them. And his new approach on Class Fours can increase our chances of communicating with them instead of trapping them! Isn't that great?"

"Isn't he working at the firehouse?" She could have slapped herself.

 _Of course he is not! If he was, Ray would have brought them to the firehouse himself._

"No, for some reason he wanted to work in his apartment." Ray said in a worried voice. "I think he had a fight with Peter – they both behave very odd."

Janine felt bad. Probably Peter had scolded Egon for bringing his date to the mayor's banquet. And because of her behavior poor Ray had to live in "Tension City" now.

 _Good job, Janine! Peter and Egon at each other's throat, Ray caught in the middle and Winston probably going crazy by trying to solve the situation. And all because you are acting like a whiny little girl! No more!_

Janine said firmly: "I'll bring him the books!" She left the shop and went to her car.

 _You have to accept that Egon is not interested in you – the sooner the better. Like an adult you will visit him at home to bring him the literature he needs to do his job because that's what a secretary does. She supports her boss when he is working!_

Janine was determined to be professional around Egon from now on.

She wasn't lucky to find a parking lot close to his apartment and instead of a few innocent drops it was raining cats and dogs by now. When she approached the building, she was soaked to the bones. At least a young man, who was about to leave it, waited for her at the door and held it open. With a smile she thanked him and hurried up the stairs.

Egon's apartment was on the third floor and soon she found the door with a plain and simple sign reading "Spengler". She rang the bell and after a while she could hear footsteps soon followed by the sound of a buzzer. To signal him that she was already inside the building, she gently knocked on the door.

She heard a key turning in the lock and the door opened. The deep blue eyes that looked at her in surprise endangered her new resolution so she focused on the books. She hid them from the rain beneath her coat. In addition her scarf was wrapped around them.

"Janine?" Egon of course had expected Kylie.

"Kylie is sick, so Ray asked me to bring you these!" She unwrapped the books, handed them to him and wanted to leave. "Bye!"

"Um, Janine?" The sound of Egon's voice made her stop and slowly turn around. He had raised an eyebrow watching her curiously.

"Yes?"

"It seems to me that you will fare as Ms. Griffin if you walk out into the cold in these clothes!" He pointed to the floor where the rain dropping from her coat left enough water to float a paper boat.

* * *

To Egon's surprise it was not Ray's protégé who brought him the books. At his door step was Janine who told him about Ms. Griffin being sick and gave him the literature he had asked Ray for. He took them from her without looking at them. His eyes and his concentration was focused on Janine.

They rain had completely soaked her. Her coat and her skirt were dripping, her heels were stained and she was shivering. Some red strains were stuck to the ivory skin of her face due to the wetness of her hair. Some tiny raindrops even hung in the long lashes that surrounded her green eyes.

Immediately after she had handed him the books she said "Bye!" and wanted to take her leave.

"Um, Janine?" He tried to stop her.

"Yes?" Almost shy she turned back to him.

"It seems to me that you will fare as Ms. Griffin if you walk out into cold in these clothes!" He directed her attention to the water puddles she left behind.

"Well, what do you think I should do about it?" She snapped at him.

Surprised by her reaction – he was merely interested in her well-being – he answered: "You could come in, so that you can borrow some of my clothes, while yours are drying."

"You are aware of the fact that you are nearly twice my size?"

"That is a little exaggerated, but I admit that I am notably taller than you!"

"I am so glad we agree on that, Dr. Spengler!" she stated sarcastically but finally she sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. You're probably right. It's not like there are many people outside right now who could judge my fashion style!"

Without looking at him she entered his apartment. He handed her a towel, an old T-Shirt and a pair of worn out jeans that was not as big as it once used to be because he had ignored the washing instructions. But for her it would still be too big so he also borrowed her a belt. Without a word she entered the bathroom he led her to and closed the door.

Yes, she was mad at him. Of course, she was. Nothing had changed since the conversation in the kitchen. But it was possible that Peter was right: It had gotten worse since then. He recalled the events at the mayor's banquet in his mind. Even though no master of reading human emotion he had not missed the rising tension after Doris and himself had joined the group. But Peter had been the angry one, Janine had seemed… hurt. Which could still have been due to what happened before but she had seemed normal at first.

 _Janine was mad at me because of what happened in the kitchen. But when she saw me, she smiled at first. Seeing Doris changed her behavior._

 _Maybe Janine dislikes Doris. But why would she? She saw her for the first time at the banquet and Doris was very friendly._

 _Maybe it had nothing to do with me. Maybe she was sick. No, Peter would not have taken her there in that case. And it would not explain why Peter was so angry._

 _Maybe it was the thought of Professor Baugh. But no, he had learned from Ms. Griffin that the decision to part ways was mutual._

He kept thinking for a while, recalling every step she made, every gesture, every look. After analyzing the whole situation he furrowed his brows. Peter was absolutely right! Egon had not believed it before, but after ruling out all other possibilities only one was left: He WAS still in a position to hurt her. She was jealous. Janine could not have known who Doris was and why he took her to the banquet.

 _Of course, Janine must have thought Doris is my Date!_

Despite feeling bad about hurting her (again) he could not help feeling happy, too. Which made him feel worse because he felt happy about her being hurt because of Doris. It was a confusing bunch of emotion that made it hard to think and he had to think fast because he already heard the bathroom door open.

Soon Janine stood in his living room again and he just could not stop the light smile forming in his face. Her hair was a little messy, probably from rubbing it with a towel. She almost disappeared in his shirt and although she had rolled up the trousers legs, they almost completely hid her feet.

"What?" She asked.

"You are beau…I mean…you look nice!" he stuttered.

"Yeah, I totally believe that!" For a second she smiled back at him but soon turned away. Her eyes wandered to the window. "Still raining. Do you have an umbrella I can borrow?"

"Yes!" He said quickly, regretting it immediately.

 _Great, Dr. Spengler! Do not take the chance to keep her as long as possible. Give her everything she needs to leave._

"Thank you. Where is it?"

Instead of answering the question he blurted out: "I owed Doris a favor so I took her to the banquet where she could meet some potential clients!"

"Oooookay", Janine raised an eyebrow. "That was a very random information. Does it include a riddle that helps me find the umbrella?"

"What? No!" Egon answered. "I thought I should tell you."

"Why?"

"You seemed shocked and a little sad!" He explained. "And so I wanted you to know that she was not my…ahem…Date."

Janine sighed and turned around looking for the umbrella. "I don't care who you date, Egon!"

"That is a lie!"

"Excuuuuse me?" Within the blink of an eye she had turned around, stepped closer and crossed her arms. She stared at him, green eyes filled with a critical amount of anger.

"I carefully analyzed your behavior. And you obviously were in a good mood until you noticed Doris. Since you had never met her she had not opportunity to get on your bad side and she was very nice to you. Also, you do not have a general aversion against lawyers because you are still friends with Louis Tully. So, since your reaction to Doris cannot be directed at her as an individual, it must be the context. And the context was – as far you thought this evening – that she was my Date. Which leads to the only conclusion that you were jealous."

"There it is again: The asshollery!"

"It is still not a word!"

"But it should be because else there would be no word for your behavior!"

With that she turned around, ran towards the door and pressed the doorhandle. But before she could open the door, Egon pressed his weight against it, making it unable for her to move it.

"Let me go, Egon!" She ordered calm but in a shaking voice.

"No!" He stated matter-of-factly, turning the key and removed it from the lock.

She tried to grab it, but he held it as high as he could which was too high for her to reach.

"Really, Egon?" She asked unbelieving. "Give me the key, or I…"

"You what? Challenge me to a physical fight about it?" He asked. "Alright, I am sure I could win without hurting you." He went back to the living room and put the key on a shelf much higher for Janine to grab it without a ladder or something similar.

"What is wrong with you? You lock me in here, again you act like an…"

"I am just stating facts, Janine. You obviously still feel…"

"Don't you dare telling me how I feel, Egon Spengler!" Vigorously she interrupted him.

"I…"

"No! I hate it when Peter does it and he is a psychologist. He knows at least something about people!" Janine paused, pointed her finger at Egon before poking his chest with it. "You know nothing about people!"

She wanted to go past him, seemingly determined to get the key. But he did not allow it. He grabbed her shoulders, not hurting her but firm enough not to let her go. Carefully he led her to the wall gently pushing her against it. He could see that he had caught her by surprise with his atypical behavior. Hopefully it would last a while so he could talk to her.

"You are right!" He admitted. "I know nothing about people. But I know something about you. I know the look of hurt on your face when I see it."

His right hand let go of her shoulder and cupped her face before he hesitantly went on: "Because it is one of the few things that hurt me."

Janine's eyes were wide in surprise. After some endless seconds she stuttered: "I…do…don't know what to say!"

He smiled.

"Well, that is unusual. But I can live with that…for now."

He brought his face even closer to hers and pleaded: "As long as you just don't go!"

She did not move or speak but returned his smile. Encouraged he pressed his lips softly to hers. She allowed it and closed her eyes so he dared to deepen the kiss. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. After a while she broke the kiss, opened her eyes, and smiled at him softly.

"I would love to stay!" She assured him. "But I have to go back to work. Else my boss will get mad at me."

"Which one?" He grinned.

"Dr. Venkman! Dr. Stantz is not at the firehouse right now and that other guy, Dr. Spengler, would not notice if I'd be gone for days!"

"Oh, he would! Every second." Smiling Egon cupped her face again. "But it is hard for him to admit it."

She blushed a little. Gently she tried to free herself.

"Seriously, I have to go!"

"I'll take care of this!"

Peter sat at his desk. He thought about Egon's words. A lot of truth laid in them: Yes, Egon had a lot of character flaws but Peter himself had more. Sure, Peter had never hurt Janine but some other women. Egon just happened to constantly hurt a woman Peter cared for.

The psychologist sighed. Egon was his best friend and even though he still was angry at him, Peter had to admit that he had treated him unfairly. The physicist needed help when it came to understand women, no, people in general. Now that he knew that he had hurt Janine he would take care of it.

 _Yes, Venkman, you owe him an apology. For yelling at him and for kissing the woman he loves._

The phone interrupted his thoughts. Startled he jumped from his chair. Janine was not back yet and so he hurried to her desk and he picked up the phone.

"Ghostbusters! How can we help you?" He asked.

"Peter, it's me!" He heard a familiar voice.

"Egon! I just was thinking about you. Listen, I am sorry!" Peter blurted out. "We need to talk when you're back. I still think that you and Janine…"

"Speaking of Janine", Egon interrupted him. "She is here with me and won't come back to the firehouse today."

"Okay. Why?"

"I need her!" Egon stated.

Peter grinned: "I see! No problem, I will take care of everything."

"Thank you!"

"As long as you two are back tomorrow."

"We will see."

"Bye, Egon!"

"Goodbye!"

With a content smile Peter let himself sink in Janine's chair. Much better tempered than only a minute ago he put his feet on her desk and crossed his arms behind her desk. His father had been right: If you wait long enough, most problems take care of themselves.

Janine watched Egon hang up the phone. With a seductive smile she stepped closer to him.

"You need me here, hm?" She asked curiously. "What for exactly?"

Slowly he turned around and took her hands in his.

"Patience, Miss Melnitz!" He tried to wear a serious face but could not help smiling lightly. "You will see."

End

* * *

„Ghostbusters" ©1984 Columbia Pictures, „Ghostbusters by IDW" ©2008 Sony/IDW

Thanks to Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis for creating the great movie and the fantastic universe of "Ghostbusters" and thanks to IDW for keeping it alive until today!


End file.
